I’ve been avoiding this review. Not because it’s bad, but if you actually listened to me on the CBMFP a few months back you already know that I liked it. No, the reason is because I don’t think I’ll ever be able to talk about this issue in a way that will interest you to read it for yourself. I want you to, but I think the way the story is structured and told doesn’t lend itself to a recap very well. It's an experience that you just have to experience. So here we go.

[su_quote]Synopsis: The future is fucked. Kids are beating each other up over junk and a whistleblower has just revealed that a big corporation is stealing water. How will Skyquench spin their way out of this one? And how will he get away from Skyquench?[/su_quote]

That’s the gist of it. The future is shit, which we already know it will be, but we’re still here. Humans that is. The story is told from a couple of perspectives, which makes it difficult to say who will be showing up in the next eight issue of the story. The two kids we meet in the beginning seem inconsequential to the story, but the scene is weird and spacey that I really liked it. It hooked me instantly and that's something that a lot of science fiction comics fail to do.

In some ways this story is social commentary on how corporations spin negative news. It’s scary accurate and yet here we sit in a society that allows corporations to constantly spin the news and the blame. Really, all news outlets are corporations. That’s just a side note to think about. Aside from that, I don't know what else we'll get. It's a curious story, though. It makes you wonder and think about it after you're done reading it and damn, that makes it good.

I liked the writing a lot. The dialogue was realistic and flowed naturally. It was an organic reading experience in that way. My one and only problem with it is that I’m not really sure who is going to carry the rest of the book. And I’m okay with that. I want to read more of the series. Hell, I want to read all of it and kind of wonder if this is better read as a completed story. We’ll see.

I’m a sucker for any comic in black and white… well, not any, but it does help your chances. Good black and white art just has so much personality and realism to it. That is the case here as the issue is in all B&W. The shading is subtle, but adds a layer of lighting to the story making it all the more real looking. It gave me a tingle of classic Heavy Metal, which was a good thing. The character designs are photo-realistic and it looks like the future. Not a Star Trek future, but more like Cowboy Bebop. Used and trashy. I like my future’s used and trashy by the way. And, no, I don’t count Star Wars. Again, side note.

Have I done it? Have I convinced you to read The Solar Gird? I hope so. I know that it was a surprise for me to read it and enjoy it so much. As I said on the podcast… that last page is really good. That’s how you do a cliffhanger. It tells you everything you need to know, but brings you back for more, instead of what a lot of comics do and try to be cheeky.